Metals: Copper Gains Amid a Labor Dispute in Chile
12 July 2017 - 6:13AM
Dow Jones News
By Justin Yang
Copper prices rose to a one-week high on Tuesday, boosted by a
potential supply disruption amid labor unrest in Chile.
Copper for September delivery settled up 0.9% to $2.6720 a pound
on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold for
August delivery, meanwhile, gained 0.1% to $1,214.70 a troy
ounce.
Workers at Antofagasta PLC and Barrick Gold Corp.'s Zaldívar
copper mine, which produced a little over 103,000 metric tons of
copper content in 2016, voted to go on strike after wage
negotiations failed, said analysts at ING Bank.
The workers still need to seek government mediation before
actually going on strike, which could come as early as the start of
next week, said Robin Bhar, head of metals research at Société
Générale.
"Mine disruptions early this year were helping the price and I
suspect that will be the case the second half this year," said Mr.
Bhar.
The WSJ dollar index, which compares the dollar against a basket
of currencies, fell 0.2% to 88.19, reversing earlier gains. A
weaker dollar makes it cheaper for holders of other currencies to
purchase dollar-denominated metals like gold.
Investors are awaiting a raft of speeches this week from U.S.
Federal Reserve members and Chairwoman Janet Yellen. Data on U.S.
retail sales, industrial production figures and the consumer-price
index will be released on Friday, providing further clues on the
health of the economy and the central bank's intentions.
Stephanie Yang contributed to this article.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 11, 2017 15:58 ET (19:58 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024